The
2016 General Assembly session is underway. This year is a long
session, lasting 60 days, during which the General Assembly will pass a
biennial state budget based largely on the budget proposed by Governor
Terry McAuliffe. We will also hold committee meetings and subcommittee
meetings to consider more than 1200 bills and have floor votes and
debates on several hundred of those.
State of the Commonwealth
Governor
McAuliffe delivered his third State of the Commonwealth address last
Wednesday evening, outlining his plan to expand economic opportunities
and move beyond partisan issues to focus on legislative priorities on
which we can all agree.
As I said in the Washington Post article covering the State of the Commonwealth,
I absolutely agree with the Governor that we need to concentrate on the
things that both parties can find common ground on. The campaigns are
over and it is time to get to work on the 2016 Session.
Session Issues & Priorities
In
addition to the budget, which will take up a large part of the
Assembly’s time, several other themes have emerged that may present us
with opportunities to have a healthy and vigorous debate over what
direction the Commonwealth should go. Many of us want to adopt laws and
policies that will bring Virginia into the 21st
century, transforming our economy and way of life, and ensuring the
Commonwealth is a place that all sorts of Americans can be proud to call
home.
One
area of potential friction and fireworks will be how the General
Assembly reacts to the recent Supreme Court Decision that made same sex
marriage legal in all fifty states, including Virginia. Some members of
the legislature have introduced legislation that presumes that those
who would discriminate against Virginians on the basis of their gender
identity or their choice to marry someone of the same sex are in fact
the real victims, rather than those against whom they seek to
discriminate.
Fortunately,
I have been working to reach across party lines to find like-minded
members from all over the state to advance the issues and values that we
share. I’m pleased to be able to report that I will have GOP members
Chief Co-Patron two of my signature initiatives in 2016.
Delegate Glenn Davis (R-Virginia Beach) and I will work together on the creation of a Student Loan Debt refinancing authority.
Another
Republican Delegate from Virginia Beach, Scott Taylor, will work with
me on my annual effort to add sexual orientation and gender identity to
Virginia’s list of protected classes under our state’s fair housing law.
You can by visiting lis.virginia.gov and finding my name under the General Assembly Members heading.
Budget amendments
I
submitted a few budget amendments this Session, mostly in response to
fiscal impact statements linked to my legislation. However, I also
submitted a couple of amendments for important causes like paid sick
days for providers of Medicaid home and community-based waiver services
and for funding for the Tinner Hill Historic Site to continue its historic preservation work.
All budget amendments submitted this Session will be available online by noon on Thursday, January 21st.
Falls Church & McLean Town Hall Meetings
This
past Saturday, I held my Falls Church and McLean Town Hall meetings to
discuss the Session and answer questions from the community. Several
issues were raised, including raising the minimum wage, bipartisan
redistricting, restrictions
on TANF, gun violence prevention initiatives, and accountability for
VDOT projects. It was great to have so many in attendance and learning
of your priorities helps me better represent you!